PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners can finally play online games together

Microsoft is opening up its Xbox Live online service to gamers on
other platforms — namely, PlayStation 4 and
PC. Whoa.

"Halo" hero Master Chief is just as shocked as we
are.YouTube/Xbox

In a move that's up there with Sonic the Hedgehog appearing next
to Super Mario in a video game,
Microsoft announced this morning on its Xbox blog that it's
opening up the Xbox Live online platform — the service you use to
play games online through an Xbox One or Xbox 360 — to every
platform.

First, in addition to natively supporting cross-platform play
between Xbox One and Windows 10 games that use Xbox Live, we’re
enabling developers to support cross-network play as well. This
means players on Xbox One and Windows 10 using Xbox Live will be
able to play with players on different online multiplayer
networks – including other console and PC networks.

That's a huge move.

It means games like "Destiny" or "Call of Duty" could be played
online, together, by players who are on Xbox One, PlayStation 4,
and PC. It means Microsoft is putting the ball in Sony's court on
doing the right thing: making as many cross-platform games as
possible playable across both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Think about the situation right now: you buy this year's "Call of
Duty" on Xbox One, and your buddy buys it on PlayStation 4. You
want to play the game online together, but you can't. It's the
same game, with the same online modes. The only reason you can't
play the game online together is because you're on different
platforms, and the platform-makers — Sony and Microsoft — don't
allow you to play games online with people on the rival's
platform.

That's dumb. Microsoft is saying, "We agree. That
is dumb. Enough.", and enabling game makers who are developing
games for both platforms — the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One —
to allow online play across both. Rad!

"Destiny" is a
ridiculously popular first-person shooter on Xbox One and
PlayStation 4. Players scour the universe in search of content to
enjoy.Bungie

Considering Microsoft and Sony's long rivalry between Xbox and
PlayStation, this is a pretty major philosophical shift. It's a
smart move from a company that's putting up a solid fight against
the PlayStation 4's continued dominance in sales (over 36 million
sold). Frankly, we're excited to see what comes of this from
Sony's side; we reached out and haven't heard back just yet.

In the meantime, Tech Insider favorite "Rocket League" is getting
cross-platform support for online play between Xbox One and PC.
Bizarrely, the game already has cross-platform support between
PlayStation 4 and PC, just not between all three platforms.
Rather, PlayStation 4 players can play with PC players, and Xbox
One players can play with PC players, but Xbox One and
PlayStation 4 players can't play together. Which is just as silly
as it sounds.

Maybe "Rocket League" will be the first game in a new,
consumer-first paradigm where you can simply play games with your
friends regardless of what platform they bought the game on!
Fingers crossed, but maybe don't bet on it.